The delivery of frozen and cold foodstuffs to supermarkets requires most metropolitan areas to have one or more central distribution centers in which the foodstuffs are stored until shipment to the supermarkets for purchase by the consumer.
Cold storage warehouses of many different configurations have been proposed over the years. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,417, the present inventor discloses a warehouse arrangement comprising a cluster of inner cells for receiving and storing processed frozen food products at extremely low temperatures. The inner cells are surrounded by outer cells for receiving and storing processed refrigerated food products at more moderate, yet still cold, temperatures. The outer cells function to insulate the inner cells from cooling temperature losses. Both the inner and outer cells are cooled by removing heat from the rising warm air by driving the warm air through a combination evaporator and fan units through a closed loop finned duct system located beneath the ceilings of each of the inner and outer cells. The disclosure of this U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,417 is incorporated herein by this reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,585 also to the present inventor discloses an energy recovery system for use in a cold storage warehouse. A refrigeration apparatus coacts with energy recovery units having turbines coupled to electromotive generators. The activation of the generators to produce electricity is achieved by utilizing surplus energy available from the operation of the refrigeration apparatus. The surplus energy comes primarily from the kinetic energy of the fluids, vapors and gases flowing through the conduit systems forming circuits through which the refrigerant is circulated during the refrigeration cycle of the refrigeration apparatus.
The present invention expands the concepts contained in these two earlier patents to include a cryogenic test site area on the interior of a specially arranged cold storage warehouse. This cryogenic test site is provided on the interior of the cold storage warehouse and offers a location in which low temperature research and development can be conducted without detracting from the operation and efficiency of the working areas of the cold storage warehouse. The cryogenic test site is easily accessible to scientists and engineers who wish to conduct research and development in a low temperature environment. The cryogenic test site is located such as to not interfere with the storage of processed refrigerated food products and the receipt, storage and delivery of these food products can go on without interrupting the research and development being conducted in the cryogenic test site.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cryogenic test site as a functional part of a cold storage warehouse.
It is a feature of the present invention to locate the cryogenic test site on the interior of a generally circular or octagonal structure and both freezer and cold storage warehouse areas are located around the perimeter of the cryogenic test site.
It is an advantage of the present invention that a convenient location and arrangement for a cryogenic test site can be provided in conjunction with a cold storage warehouse. The cryogenic test site is located so that research and development being conducted in the cryogenic test site does not interfere with the normal operation of the rest of the cold storage warehouse, while at the same time taking advantage of the operating environment of the cold storage warehouse to minimize the amount of energy and insulation that would otherwise be necessary to maintain a cryogenic test site at its needed operating conditions.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.